Israeli delegation members sit at the International Court of Justice, at the start of a hearing as part of an ongoing case South Africa filed accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention during its offensive in Gaza, in The Hague, Netherlands, May 17, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman

Israel defended the military necessity of its Gaza offensive on Friday at the International Court of Justice and asked judges to throw out a request by South Africa to order it to halt operations in Rafah and withdraw from the Palestinian territory.

Israeli Justice Ministry official Gilad Noam called South Africa‘s case, which accuses Israel of violating the Genocide Convention, “completely divorced from facts and circumstances.”

“[The case] makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide,” Noam said. He called it “an obscene exploitation of the most sacred convention,” referring to the international treaty banning genocide, agreed after the Holocaust of European Jews in World War Two.

The convention requires all countries to act to prevent genocide, and the ICJ, also known as the World Court, which hears disputes between states, has concluded that this gives South Africa a right to make the case.

A woman who yelled “liars!” during Israel‘s presentation was removed by security guards, a rare protest in the “Great Hall of Justice” courtroom in The Hague.

“There is a tragic war going on, but there is no genocide” in Gaza, Noam said.

In past rulings, the court has rejected Israel‘s demands to dismiss the case and ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against the Palestinians, while stopping short of ordering it to halt the assault.

Ahead of Israel‘s presentation, several dozen pro-Israeli protesters gathered outside, displaying photographs of hostages taken by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 and demanding their release.

The South African legal team, which set out its case for fresh emergency measures the previous day, framed the Israeli military operation as part of a genocidal plan aimed at bringing about the destruction of the Palestinian people.

South Africa‘s ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, requested the court to order Israel to “immediately, totally, and unconditionally withdraw the Israeli army from the entirety of the Gaza Strip.”

South Africa brought its latest request for emergency action in response to an Israeli military offensive in Rafah, the Hamas terror group’s last bastion at the southern edge of Gaza and refuge for about a million people who fled the fighting further north.

Israel‘s Noam said that Israel‘s military operations were not aimed at civilians, but at Hamas terrorists using Rafah as a stronghold, who have tunnel systems which could be used to smuggle hostages and terrorists out of Gaza.

Examples of alleged violations by Israel raised by South Africa were “not evidence of a policy of illegal behaviur, let alone a policy of genocide,” he said. Ordering Israel to withdraw its troops would sentence remaining hostages in Gaza to death, Noam said.

The war began when Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists invaded southern Israel from neighboring Gaza, murdering 1,200 people and abducting over 250 others as hostages. In response, Israel launched a military campaign in Hamas-ruled Gaza aimed at freeing the hostages and destroying the terrorist group.

This week’s hearings focus only on issuing emergency measures and it will likely take years before the court can rule on the underlying genocide charge. A decision on the request for emergency measures is expected next week.